Development of integrated water reuse strategies

Recurring droughts throughout the last decades have revealed that water supply is often insufficiently balanced to the demand and thus vulnerable to extreme climatic events and structural or seasonal demand peaks. In the context of a more sustainable water management, water reclamation and reuse appears to be an alternative dependable water resource. This paper, which was worked out in the frame of the AQUAREC project aims to develop a water reuse strategy based on the anticipation of major factors that promote or slow down the development of water reuse. The investigations distinguish between substantial issues related to the measurable variables of water management such as water availability and demand and the analysis of normative issues as laid down in legislation, guidelines and reflected by the institutional settings. Moreover, water reuse particularly faces the challenge to comply with the precautionary principle and affords a robust risk management to adequately response to the objections of the public. In this context the importance of establishing a best management practice framework and increasing public awareness of the water cycle have to be emphasised as two important aspects in strategic planning of water reuse. A range of supportive measures is recommended to fix water reuse in integrated water management and to recognise its beneficial effects. Different policy options and opportunities to achieve this are discussed.